Re: Mother of 5 sentenced to death for blasphemy

Pakistan seems to be a country divided between very honest, brave and determined people and very ignorant and savagely depraved people.
It seems the ignorant savages have the upper hand at the moment and have forced the Pakistani government to capitulate to their demands.

They have forced the Government to bar Asia Bibi from leaving the country, this despite her complete acquittal from the charges laid against her.

This is from Church In Chains:

The government of Pakistan has agreed to place Asia Bibi’s name on the country’s Exit Control List , meaning that she will not be allowed to leave Pakistan.

The decision by the government meets a key demand of the Islamist extremist protesters who brought Pakistan to a standstill with three days of protests following the Supreme Court’s acquittal of Asia in a judgment announced on Wednesday.

The government had stated earlier in the week that it would not bar Asia from leaving the country but reversed its decision after deciding to negotiate with the protesters. One of the leaders of the Islamic extremist group Tehreek Labek Pakistan (TLP) behind the protests, Afzal Qadri, said, “the government has almost accepted our maximum demands” and that if it backtracked “we can come [out on the streets] again”. The protests have now ended and daily life in Pakistan is returning to normal.

As part of the agreement, the government also agreed that it will raise no objections over the review petition against the Supreme Court decision sought by the imam who filed the original complaint against Asia in 2009. Such review petitions are normally heard within thirty days but there is no certainty as to when this will occur.

Where is Asia Bibi?
Eisham MasihAsia’s family (including her daughter Eisham, pictured on Friday) has been shocked and saddened by the government decision and the outpouring of hatred seen in the mass protests against Asia.

As far as is known, Asia Bibi is being held in an undisclosed location somewhere in Pakistan, guarded by heavy security. It is not known if she is still being held in the same prison where she has been held for several years or another security facility. Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the government would “take all steps necessary” to ensure her safety.

Following the agreement between the government and the protesters, Afzal Qadri, one of the leaders of the TLP told the media that Asia Bibi had again been put under detention and claimed that an aeroplane which had arrived from the UK to take her to some Western country had flown back without her.

It had been reported earlier that bureaucratic details were holding up the processing of the departure of Asia and her family from Pakistan to a European country that had offered her asylum.

Asia’s lawyer flees Pakistan
Saif-ul-MalookAsia’s lawyer Saif-ul-Malook left Pakistan on 3 November saying that he had decided to leave as it was “not possible” to continue living in Pakistan, adding: “I need to stay alive as I still have to fight the legal battle for Asia Bibi.” He told Pakistan’s Express Tribune he would return to the country to defend his client but needed the government to provide security.

Earlier in the week speaking about the threats to his life, Saif said, “I think it’s better to die as a brave and strong man than to die as a mouse and fearful person”

Reaction
“Placing Asia Bibi on the Exit Control List is like signing her death warrant,” said Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association. “I am not surprised that Imran Khan’s regime has caved in to extremists – this is a commonly recurring socio-political trend in Pakistan… we will continue to pray for Asia and call on people of good conscience to seek western intervention into this situation, so that Asia and millions of other Christians in Pakistan are protected.”

In its editorial, Another Surrender, Dawn newspaper declared: “Yet another government has capitulated to violent religious extremists who neither believe in democracy, nor the Constitution.

“The law had already taken its course and an innocent woman was to be set free after a hellish, near-decade-long ordeal. It is the protesters against whom the law now needed to take its course… the woman expressedly declared innocent by the highest court in the land is to be kept in legal limbo… Pakistan, it would seem, was a country with no real leadership while chaos and anarchy spread in the streets once again. The repercussions could quickly manifest themselves in the days ahead.”

The Pakistani lawyer who helped a Christian woman overturn her death sentence for blasphemy said on Saturday he had left the country in fear of his life after her acquittal earlier this week sparked street protests by Islamists.

Leaders of the ultra-Islamist Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) group blocked main roads in Pakistan’s biggest cites for three days, calling for the murder of the Supreme Court judges who acquitted Asia Bibi on Wednesday – urging their cooks and servants to kill them.

Re: Mother of 5 sentenced to death for blasphemy

Asia Bibi's husband has appealed to US President Donald Trump for refuge for Asia and her family. He also appealed to the British and Canadian Prime Ministers for assistance.

The Irish Government would have overwhelming public support in offering asylum and any assistance possible to this family and others in similar circumstances. We should all contact the Taoiseachs office to urge him to act.

ISLAMABAD: The husband of a Pakistani Christian woman acquitted after spending eight years on death row on charges of blasphemy has appealed to US President Donald Trump for refuge, citing danger to family members’ lives.

Re: Mother of 5 sentenced to death for blasphemy

Asia Bibi was released from prison yesterday. She is in a secret location in Pakistan and protected by heavy security.

Asia Bibi was finally released from Multan prison on 7 November and flown to Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, where she is being held under heavy security. Her release from prison came a week after she was acquitted of blasphemy by Pakistan’s Supreme Court.

The aircraft carrying Asia landed at the old Benazir Bhutto International Airport of Islamabad adjacent to Nur Khan Air Base. Soon after landing, Asia was taken to an undisclosed location in Islamabad amid tight security. The authorities are keeping her movements and whereabouts secret for security reasons and it is unclear if she will be kept in Islamabad or allowed to fly out of the country.

Initial reports that she was on a plane to the Netherlands have been firmly denied by a spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, who said that she will not be flown out of the country until judgment is given on the review petition filed against the Supreme Court acquittal. While such petitions are normally adjudicated within 30 days, the Chargés d’Affaires at Pakistan’s Dublin Embassy said earlier this week that the Supreme Court was extremely busy and many other cases could take priority. The review petition would be heard by an expanded bench of the Supreme Court (three Supreme Court judges heard the appeal).

There is continuing confusion about whether or not Asia’s name has been placed on Pakistan’s Exit Control List – a key demand of the protesters who brought many parts of Pakistan to a standstill last week as they called for her to be hanged.

Christians in Pakistan are delighted at the news that Asia has finally been released from prison (after more than nine years) but remain deeply concerned for her safety and also for the safety of Pakistan’s Christians in general. One source said, “We fear there may be more violence on Friday, because in extremist mosques this will certainly be discussed. Friday protests have already been called. It’s possible Christians will be targeted.”

What happens next?
Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association spoke this morning with the family of Asia Bibi and they said that is of the utmost importance that there be no further speculation on her whereabouts reported by either concerned groups or international media. She and her family and guardians all face a real danger of being killed.

Re: Mother of 5 sentenced to death for blasphemy

Great turn-out for the most genteel demonstration you are ever likely to see.

About 100 people outside the Pakistani Embassy lunch time today, organised by Church In Chains to support Asia Bibi, her family and her lawyer Saiful Mulook and his family who have been threatened and are not receiving any official protection.

The only public representative present was Brendan Howlin TD, the Labour party leader who has raised the case in the Dáil several times and will be putting down a parliamentary question next chance he gets.
By prior arrangement a letter outlining the concerns about the situation of Asia and others was handed over by David Turner and Brendan Howlin TD who were received courteously and assured the case would not be allowed drag on.

Re: Mother of 5 sentenced to death for blasphemy

Originally Posted by C. Flower

I'm very glad she is out of prison.

Yes, that is great.

..........

During the protests after her release every motorway in Pakistan was blocked by mobs calling for her to be killed. It was because of the threat of all out civil war that the Government capitulated to the Islamist demands. They might well have been right to take that action. But what they do next will be a real test of their skill and courage. The savages have extended their threats to the family of Saiful Mulook, the lawyer who represented Asia in court and to the Embassy and staff of the Netherlands where he is seeking refuge. Saiful Mulook has appealed to the UN to ensure his relatives still in Pakistan are protected.
The Netherlands embassy has recalled almost all their staff.

This is a crucial time for Pakistan. Let us hope the better side of Pakistan prevails.